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The financially troubled Somerset County Republican Organization is nearly $50,000 in debt, with most of it owed for two events held at former President Donald Trump’s Bedminster Township golf course.

A finance report filed by the Somerset County Republican Executive Committee on July 26 lists $48,753 in debts. Cash on hand totaled $1,183.

The document, submitted to the state’s Election Law Enforcement Commission, lists four outstanding “obligations” as well as an unpaid loan that comprise the shortfall.

The obligations include $16,072 for a county GOP event held at Trump National Golf Club in Bedminster on Oct. 6, 2022.

Another $23,681 is owed for an event held at Trump National on July 18, 2023. The ELEC filing contains no further details other than to categorize the two golf course expenses as “fundraising food and beverage.”

The Somerset County GOP held its annual Luke Gray Golf Classic at Trump National on Oct. 6, 2022 and July 18, 2023, according to past online posts still viewable on state and local Republican Party websites. Gray, a former Watchung mayor, served as chairman of the Somerset County Republican Organization from 1955 until his passing in 1984.

In 2022, the outing’s $600 entry fee included green fees, carts, driving range use, snacks and beverages, locker room and gratuities. Non-players and guests were welcome to attend the classic’s dinner at $400 per person, according to a post on the New Jersey Republican Party site.

The North Plainfield Republican Municipal Committee’s site includes photos of the 2023 event. One shows three Republicans posing with a banner reading “Trump Won.”

Other debts are $6,000 owed in rent on the county Republican headquarters in Somerville and $500 for a 2024 Primary Night event held at the Bradley Gardens Firehouse in Bridgewater.

The party also owes $2,500, an amount loaned to it on June 28 by its current chairwoman, Tracy DiFrancesco Zaikov, according to the ELEC filing.

Zaikov unseated former Somerset County Republican Chairman Timothy Howes during balloting held by party members in June. The financial status of the county GOP organization had been a point of dissatisfaction within the party since last year.

In April, ELEC filed a complaint against the Somerset County Republican Organization alleging multiple campaign finance disclosure violations in 2022 and 2023.

Commenting on the ELEC complaint, Zaikov placed the blame squarely on Howes. “Three years of unfiled reports and excuses for his lack of management is nothing less than negligence, which is unacceptable and inexcusable,” Zaikov said at the time.

As recently as year-end 2019, the Somerset GOP was enjoying monetary health with more than $93,000 in cash on-hand, according to ELEC filings. In 2018, Republicans held all five seats on the Somerset County Board of Commissioners, as well as the county clerk, surrogate and sheriff positions.

The county’s changing voter demographics altered the election outcome that year and has continued. Today, Democrats hold all five commissioner seats and the other elected county positions. As Democrats have strung together ballot box victories, donors to the Somerset County Republican Organization have dried up.

In 2023, State Sen. Jon Bramnick – whose 21st Legislative District includes Middlesex Borough – transferred $15,400 in campaign donations to the Somerset GOP to help pay its bills. Bramnick also represents Warren Township and several other Somerset County towns at the Statehouse.

Zaikov, a Watchung resident, is the daughter of former Gov. Donald DiFrancesco, who resides in Warren Township.

The July 26 filing by the GOP executive committee shows multiple infusions of cash by Howes to help keep the organization afloat financially. Between April and June of this year, Howes made seven donations totaling $7,675 to the Somerset Republican organization, according to the July 26 ELEC filing.

Howes, an attorney, has been a general counsel to the New Jersey Republican State Committee since 2011, according to his LinkedIn profile. He is a former Peapack-Gladstone borough councilman and serves as a Raritan Valley Community College trustee. Howes served as Somerset County GOP chair from June 2020 until his defeat by Zaikov this past June.

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